


The night's just begun

by Cherryd



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-26
Updated: 2017-03-26
Packaged: 2018-10-11 05:24:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10456149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cherryd/pseuds/Cherryd
Summary: Story about an original character and her experiences during the 10 years noctis was in the crystal.





	1. Night has come

**Author's Note:**

> First few chapters are world building and focus solely on the oc.

The world was dark now; days darker than nights. At least at night the moon still shined. As weak as its light was, it was still something. Something to look up to, some symbol of hope for people to hold on to. The people that survived that is.

The world had been dark for about 3 months now. Uncle Dave made sure to keep track. He made it his responsibility, along with pretty much everything else. The hunters were the only ones brave enough to still fight. Ask any one of them why, they'd tell you it's their job, it's what they do, and there's no difference from what it was before except that business was booming. Still just as dangerous, just as rewarding.

As head of the hunters, Uncle Dave felt it was his responsibility to help fight daemons for those who couldn't. Help any way he and his hunters could to protect everyone, Nifs and Luci's alike. He said there was no "us vs. them" anymore. We were all the same. Humans vs. daemons. And he'd help anyone willing to be helped.

In 3 short months, most towns other than Lestallum have been abandoned and overrun by daemons. A lot of people died, a lot of people turned. But a lot more would have had it not been for Uncle Dave. Most Everyone that's taken refuge in Lestallum has Uncle Dave to thank. He helped fortify the city, put resources towards housing, invested in those special lights Ms. Cindy and Cid developed to keep the daemons away. He was a good leader and a keen survivalist. And in this dark world, the people wanted no one else to guide them, and he wanted nothing else but to help.

Uncle Dave was kind of like the moon. That last ray of hope in this dark world. Nothing made you prouder than being his....whatever you were to him.

You call him your Uncle, but you shared no blood relation. Nevertheless, he was the only family you'd had for a long time. And You, like so many others, owed him your life.

11 years ago, when you were 7 or 8, he had found you alone and abandoned. Kicked out of each town you tried to take refuge in for "stealing the King's magic." But you didn't purposefully steal anything. You didn't know how you could do the things you do or why. Mom knew. Mom could do it too.

When daemons attacked, she could use their magic against them, like you. And if she killed a daemon, that magic would permanently be hers. But at a cost. To use magic that isn't yours always has a cost, physical pain, exhaustion. The more you use, the higher the cost. Use too much and she would go into stasis and be so physically weakened and beaten she wouldn't be able to move, with her skin taking a blue tint. That's when dad, with his brute strength, would step in. They were a great team against daemons. You wish they could have lived long enough to teach you what they knew. 

But the world was dark for you long before the sun stopped rising. When you were 4, the empire appointed their new chancellor, Ardyn. He was the one that put the idea of mixing daemons with humans for a more powerful army. He also knew the secrets of the world and found and coerced your mother and father to travel to Gralea for "experiments." Your family became "esteemed guests" of the empire. Prisoners, in other words. 

Apparently being able to harness daemon magic was exactly what the empire, in their greed, wanted to learn. They tried mixing daemon blood with hers to see if she could produce stronger magic. She allowed them to, since saying no would be a death sentence for you and your father. And it worked. She became more powerful, and soon became strong enough to overpower guards at the base you were all confined in. Then you all ran. You, dad, and mom.

But using another's magic has a cost, and the more you use, the higher the cost. Breaking out of the prison and the magic used was killing her. She had used too much and was pushed too far by the empire's experiments. She made it to Tenebrae before succumbing to the physical cost of her magic, her skin adorned with a blue sheen as the life faded from her. By the grace of the oracle, Sylva Nox Fleuret, father was able to bury her In a peaceful valley, where the syllablossoms bloomed. 

You lived in Tenebrae for 3 quiet years. Father, because of his strength, became a royal guard for the Nox fleurets, and you were able to start training to harness your budding powers. Your mother's powers. That is until the empire came. They said it was an assassination attempt on King Regis and his son, who had also taking shelter under Lady fleuret. That may have been the emperor's goal, but not Versatel's. When the attack happened, and lady Fleuret killed, Versatel and a 8 of his magetek troops came after you. Word got out that your mother's gifts, this blue magic, was yours as well.

Father and you ran, but not fast enough. You made it just to the outskirts of Tenebrae when they found you. Your father held them off as he told you to run. And you ran. You ran as fast as you could, but you were not fast enough to outrun the scream of your dad, as Versatel's sword pierced him. Not fast enough to lose the 4 MTs Versatel sent after you.

You were cornered, there in a field in Tenebrae when she came. The messenger of the gods, Gentiana, only she wasn't just a messenger was she? There in the field she revealed her true self in an act to save you. The Goddess Shiva used a cold that could only be hers to destroy the MTs chasing you. And in this act she gifted you her power. This coldness became yours. Not just for the battle, but permanently. It was the first permanent spell you learned, gifted by the goddess herself. 

And this power helped you survive but just barely. Tenebrae was taken, and you knew the only chance you had was to go back to Luci. So you Treked across the empire, through the wilderness as most cities had Nif spies and troops laying about. Using the full power of Shiva would have killed you, so you could only use just what you needed to get away from the daemons and beasts that attacked. And even that took its toll on your 7 year old body. But on you went. 6 months it took you to travel by foot to altissia. 

You stowed away on a cargo ship headed to Luci, praying for a home. But the Luci were scared of the unknown and your powers were just that. You couldn't explain them and when they were discovered, you were kicked out of whatever town you had been surviving in. Only the king and his royal guards could use magic here. You, unfortunately were neither and thus not accepted. 

That is until Uncle Dave found you. That's when you found home.


	2. Before the sunset

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Growing up with Dave.

Whenever Dave talks about it, he always says he found you. But if he were being honest about it, you actually found him...In the middle of a hunt with a Marlboro...getting his ass kicked.

You had been on your own for a while now in Lucii, trekking through this swampy area, avoiding the monsters that lay hidden. You had gotten pretty good at it, so when Dave passed by to hunt the Marlboro, neither of them saw you. You watched in the shadows as he started fighting. He was good. As young as you were, you had seen enough fights to know he had experience. He just didn't have as many arms as the Marlboro had eggs and as he was dealing with the hatchlings, he hadn't noticed the mother Marlboro preparing to use "Bad Breathe." You were torn. Using your magic lead to trouble, you had learned, but this man needed help, and you couldn't just turn away.

So you jumped out of hiding just as the malboros toxin was released shoved the old man out of the way of the gas cloud. He yelled in surprise as he stumbled a few steps back. His surprised turned to concern when he saw you, this tiny child, getting surrounded by the poisonous gas. He knew The mutilple effects of the poison gas so he readied an elixir to pour on you once the cloud dissipated , but before he could you were up on your feet running to the Marlboro, casting the same spell it had just thrown onto Dave. 

The effects were immediate and the Marlboro was poisoned, confused, couldn't see, and was open for Dave's attack. Dave saw his opportunity and killed the beast, completing his hunt and turned to you to give you that elixir, as you had also been poisoned but luckily the confusion and darkness didn't stick. 

By the time he turned tho, you had started running. You had gotten run out of small town after small town for doing a lot less during your few weeks in Lucii. People would run away from you, or worse, run after you. Based on this hunter chasing you, yelling for you to stop, you figured he was in the latter group. 

You tried losing him in the marshes and the thick fog, and maybe you would have had things been different. But you had used your magic, which left you fatigued, been poisoned, and were running away from not only a hunter, but the leader of them. So yeah he caught you.

When he grabbed you, you braced yourself for a beating, for screams of you being a heathen, something to that effect. But what you got instead was the elixir and a firm but gentle grip on your wrist.

"What's your name?" Dave asked as he was dosing you with the curative.

He was being kind to you, far kinder than anyone but your parents had ever been after seeing your magic, but you still didn't trust him. You stood there in silent protest, eyeing him warily.

"My name is Dave. Dave auburnbrie. What you did back there was very brave."

Still silent.

"Are you alone? You look like you've been out here for a while. You must be hungry." 

He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a simple sandwich he had for later incase he needed to make camp that night.

And just like that, your eyes lit up and all suspicion in them disappeared. You hadn't let yourself think about how hungry you were until now. Seeing that sandwich in front of you was an oasis in the desert. You rather rudely grabbed at it and started devouring it. Dave laughed at your eagerness, amused by your innocence.

"That kind of magic is very...rare here. I bet people treat you mean when they see you use it. Is that why you ran?"

Still silent, but mostly because you had your mouthful of the worlds most delicious sandwich.

"It's okay, you don't need to be afraid of me. There's magic in my family too. My aunt Kimya. Is there anyone else in your family like you?"

You swallowed slowly, processing the confession he just told you. His aunt also had powers? "My mother, but she's dead now." As you said it out loud, you could feel that old tickle in the back of your throat.

"And your dad? Where is he?" Dave continued gently.

"He's dead too." It came out like a quiver, and was the first time you had acknowledged he was gone. At Least out loud. Realizing this, coupled with the surprised kindness of this stranger, turn that tickle in your throat into floodgates. You started sobbing uncontrollably, even harder when Dave scooped you up in his arms and carried you away from the swamp.

"It's okay." He said softly, "you're safe now."

From then on you were Dave's ward. He took care of you, trained with you, and loved you like you were his own. When he would go on hunts, he would leave you in the care of Cid. Cid was gruff but behind his old grumpy facade, he was a softy. And you idolized Ms. Cindy. You aren't sure why you always called her Ms. Cindy. Probably that's how uncle Dave introduced her to you and it just stuck. And even though she was only a few years older than you, to an 7 year old, a 14 year old, a teenager, is of course an adult.

Dave also told you stories, Lucian fairy tales about the gods and goddesses, about his family and how his aunt Kimya also had powers, and was exiled because of it, stories of the hunts he went on.

He warned you of the dangers of using your powers, and wanted to shield you from ever having to rely on them. He also realized, in this world, if you couldn't fight, you were dead. So at 12 he started taking you on smaller hunts. Sabertusks or whatever beast was roaming around hammerhead. Nothing that dangerous meant you wouldn't have to use your powers. But nothing that dangerous meant it didn't really have any magic you could take for later. You had an abbreviated version of shivas magic, and now bad breath from the Marlboro you fought with Dave, but those would not be enough in an emergency.

Over the years, you and he fought tooth and nail with each other over your powers.

"I have these gifts uncle! They could help someone! The nights are getting longer and longer and if this keeps up we will be in a world of Deamons. Don't you want me to be prepared? If not to defend myself, then atleast to help everyone else! We just lost another hunter to the mines. If I had more magic, if I had more power, I could have gone, and you wouldn't have to stand there and explain to Sarah what happened." You'd always start the fights. Especially if you heard about another set of dog tags being found.

"It is too risky-people here are scared and will see your powers as you being associated with Deamons. They will turn on you. I've seen it happen before. I won't let that happen with you." He would rebuttal. 

On and on it would go, but as the years passed, the number of daemons increased. It was no longer safe to be out of camp at night. And when more and more dog tags started turning up, he knew it was a fight he would lose.

He wanted you to be a formidable hunter without tapping into your powers, but knew with them you would be unstoppable. And finally, at 16 he conceded to you expanding your magic. He would go on night hunts with you, and help you take down daemons and harvest their magic. And as much as he hated to admit it, you didn't really need his help anymore. Uncle Dave was an excellent combat trainer. never let you give up and never went easy on you. If anything, he pushed you harder than any other hunter since you were his own ward, his daughter. So at 17, seeing just how capable you had become, he agreed to let you go by yourself. He'd worry himself sick but you always came back. A few curatives short since you would need a potion or two after using your magic, but always in one piece, a little stronger than before.

You were the youngest hunter in his crew by far, his pride and joy. You could swing a sword on par with the rest of them, but your specialty was daggers. They let you get up close to your opponent, giving you an opening to steal whatever items they happen to have. Go figure, if you're not stealing their magic, you're stealing their items. And you had a real knack for it too. 

Uncle Dave and the rest of the hunters appreciated your sticky fingers. And that made it all worth it. The years of training had been hard physically and mentally but you knew that everything uncle Dave did was for you. Not so he could protect you, but so you could protect you. No one else needed to die for you. You wouldn't have to say goodbye to anyone again, or run away anymore.

And it paid off. Now in this dark world, you shined. Everything you and Dave worked so hard for meant something. You could help people, and despite the never ending night, you were a little grateful for it. you didn't have to hide your powers anymore. In the time of darkness and daemons, your powers were seen as a blessing, not a curse.

You were at The hunter's headquarters in hammerhead, watching as Iris and Cor, two Royal Knights or something from insomnia, sparring, and thinking about how much not just the world, but the people in it had changed. That's when Iris got the call she had been waiting for. They, her brother and his friends, just got back to Lestallum.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: short glimpse of what the boys had been up to since these past 3 months.


	3. Three's company

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snippet about the boy's journey back home without Noct- from promptos pov.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of these are written on my phone so excuse typos or some words that are super out of place. Autocorrect is not my friend.

It was dark, it was cold, and prompto was not happy.

Not only did he have to watch as his best friend was absorbed in the crystal, but once Noct was gone, so was the light. Daemons were everywhere all the time now, Ignis was still adjusting to life without sight, and they had no regalia or running trains anymore to get back to altissia and make it to the safe haven in Lestallum.

They had entertained the idea of take a ride with aranea weeks ago. But She had been busy over the last few weeks flying people from  
All over the world to Lestallum. Everytime she would land, she would have more people clambering on than the airship was meant to hold. 

Gladio, Ignis, and prompto all decided the people left in tenabrea, Gralea, etc. needed aranea more than they did. They atleast still had each other and could still fight and survive with each other's help. Ignis was still, prompto hated to admit it, a liability, but his tactical nature, and libra elementia saved their asses more than once on the walk back home. 

They made time in each town along the way to help keep the daemons at bay until aranea could evacuate those who would come before moving on toward altissia. It was dangerous, and with out Noctis and a fully functioning Ignis, their fighting dynamic was off, but they didn't regret it. They all felt it was their duty to help. They just hoped that there was still someome at altissia by the time they got there to man the ferries across the sea.

With Ignis being blind, walking took a lot longer than it would have otherwise. "Ahh I hate walking!" Prompto thought to himself for the 100th time this journey back home. It had been months but he could still hear Noct laughing at him "then why don't you try running for a change." The memory of him and his best friend joking felt like a long time ago, but still stung. And prompto was sure it was hurting Ignis and gladiolus just as much. So he resolved to keep his unhappiness to himself, like his friends must have, put on a brave face, and keep up the positivity he had promised himself he would at the start of the journey.

But it was hard. Each man was going through their own personal hell and they were all getting on each other's nerves as they mourned the loss of Noctis in their own way. Gladiolus felt he had failed as a shield, Ignis felt he was a hindrance and was failing his remaining friends now, and prompto felt sure all of them blamed him for getting captured in the first place, basically being the only reason Noct let himself walk into ardyn's trap. The stress of the negative thoughts, and the near sleepless nights from the constant daemon attacks were taking their toll on the group.

It didn't help that none of them wanted to talk about their insecurities, or their pain from missing their friend. They didn't want to talk much at all. Aside from a few half hearted jokes from prompto, or Ignis walking prompto and gladiolus through cooking recipes, they remained silent in each other's company. Prompto missed their old dynamic, the more cheerful gladious, the sassier, more confident Ignis, and just Noct being there.

It took them months to walk across Niflheim's nearly abandoned and daemon infested empire, while clearing out town after town. When they did finally reach altissia, prompto couldn't believe just how far it had fallen. The city had been beautiful and alive and bustling when they had stayed. Now it was a ghost town. Empty streets with flickering lights due to the fact that there was no one left to upkeep the generators. Buildings looked half repaired but abandoned. Gondolas left banging against docks, with chipped paint and leaks, and stains on the walkways that prompto guessed were blood. Daemons or humans?

As they made their way through the empty twists and turns of the city, Ignis broke the silence.

"How does the city fair?" It was the first time Ignis asked about any of the cities or towns they helped evacuate so far.

It took prompto a minute to realize why. This was the last city Ignis had seen, the last city Ignis could picture in his minds eye. And what he must be picturing now had to be better than what gladio and prompto were looking at. Prompto didn't want to ruin that memory for Ignis.

"Oh you know, it's seen some better days, but it's not that bad. They started rebuilding after leviathan."

Gladio scoffed at promptos comment, probably thinking prompto was being childish by not telling Ignis the truth. The city looked like hell. Ignis frowned a bit having heard gladious' reaction and put two and two together. The pre-leviathan image of altissia degraded in his mind like a film real that caught on fire. But he silently appreciated prompto's effort's nevertheless.

They continued toward the main dock, unsure If there was even anyone there to help them. As they approached they heard a familiar sound as they saw aranea's airship lift off from the dock area. Prompto had texted her a few days ago letting her know they would reach altissia soon, and if she could, wait for them. Worried that they might have missed their ride, he ran up the stairwell to see what was going on at the dock. Gladio grabbed on to Ignis to try to hurry him along too.

The doc was empty save a handful of survivors, and Biggs on what had to be the last fairy leaving the city! Biggs looked up at the movement in his peripheral and spotted the 3 luccians. 

"Hey there laddies! Been waiting for you three on lady A's orders. Just missed her you did but that's alright. Get down here toot sweet!"

Prompto relieved that something finally went right for them let out his first real chipper "wooh-hoo!" Since Noct disappeared. Gladiolus and Ignis were slient, but you could feel the tension between everyone ease for the first time in months. They faces relaxed and broke into small smiles.

Prompto ran ahead like he were a kid and the fairy were the ice cream truck. Gladiolus and Ignis walked slower behind as gladio had to help Ignis maneuver the switchback stairs and missing planks on the dock. When he got to the boat, prompto turned and waited for his friends, ready to grab ignis's arm and help steady him onto the fairy ramp. 

With all three of them safely on the fairy, Biggs yelled an "all aboard!?" To a silent audience, and backed the fairy away from the port.

Prompto and gladio watched altissia disappear in the distance as the last few lights of the city went dark.

"Aren't you going to call iris? Let her know we are almost back home?" Prompto asked his much larger friend.

"Nah, no reason to get her excited yet. The boat ride is long. I'll call her when we get closer." He said, trying to feign casual. But something in his tone gave away his excitement and prompto was glad for the first time since before Gralea, gladio seemed to be at ease.

With altissia out of sight now, prompto and gladio guided Ignis to an empty spot on the floor where the 3 boys sat and eventually fell sound asleep for the first time in months, leaning on each other.

 

They woke up to Biggs voice on the speaker announcing their arrival to what was left of galdin quay. Prompto got up and saw it was just like Altissia, just a shadow of its former self. and when they docked and got off the fairy with the other refugees, he saw the spot where their friend Dino used to sit. It was now vacant except for the reminents of Dino's clothes and dark stains on it that looked like daemon blood. He said a silent goodbye to the self proclaimed "reporter with a heart" and moved on to where Biggs told the other refugees to wait. Then like clockwork, prompto could see a familiar red airship in the distance, making its way over to the loading zone. Once aranea landed and opened the airship, the 3 friends rushed on board with the other survivors and were greeted by none other than the commodore herself. 

"Took you guys long enough. I was just about to tell Biggs to let you swim back to Lucii." Aranea joked.

"The travel back proved more challenging with out a vehicle, but we appreciate your concern." Quipped Ignis with a little of his old sass.

Aranea chuckled as prompto jumped up and down exclaiming "aranea!! It's so good to be back! Thanks for waiting for us. I thought for a second we had missed you." 

Aranea and Ignis, stood by and patiently listened the promptos ramblings. Seeing prompto this happy had become a rarity and they both wanted the younger man to enjoy it while it lasted. Gladio on the other hand excused himself from the group to make a phone call.

He was so excited he almost misdialed the number he knew by heart. As he listed to the phone ring a few times more than usual, he was afraid he may have dialed the wrong number until a familiar voice picked up. "Iris, we are back." Was all he got out before his little sister started screaming excitedly. 

"Cor! Y/N, their back! Can you ask Dave or Cindy for a ride back to Lestallum??!" Gladio heard her call happily to someone nearby.

There was a pause. Then "We're heading back to Lestallum now! See you soon Gladdy!"

Gladio hung up, smiled to himself, and returned to his friends to listen to prompto animatedly talk about their last 3 months to aranea.


	4. Meet and greet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You finally meet the boyband.

"Iris, I am driving as fast as I can" you groaned in fake annoyance. 

"I know, I know, but if you could just go alittle faster...?" You heard from the back seat.

"Look if you want to drive, be my guest!"

"I can't drive! Are you crazy? I haven't even learned yet and there are daemons everywhere."

"Exactly. So stop distracting me." You replied with a sigh. "Just try to calm down. They aren't going anywhere, they will still be there when we get there. And uncle Dave let aranea know which room at leville they could use for the time being. They probably won't even have time to settle before we arrive."

Iris huffed but knew you were right. Cor sat in the passenger seat beside you, with a furrowed brow. No doubt he was anxious to hear it from the boy band directly what had happened in Gralea. But he kept it to himself. 

You were anxious too, but not about the prince, or his entourage. It's not that you didn't care about the prince or the oracle, but you never paid much attention to politics. Niflheim, Lucii, both places had been cruel to you as a kid, so you never took an interest in getting invested in either's fate. You did however hear about the time they had saved your uncle when he injured himself on one of his hunts near hammerhead and for that you were grateful. "He's getting old, he needs to start taking it easy." You thought to yourself. You made a mental note to thank the boys when you met them, and thought of different ways you could tell your uncle to start easing out of actual hunts without hurting his pride.

 

What concerned you the most was the city itself. More refugees meant less space in an already overcrowded city. Uncle Dave was working with the city's designers and any engineers that survived to figure out a way to expand the power network from the power plant. There wasn't enough room anymore and refugees had to share 2 family's to a hotel room at leville as it was. Dave had toyed with the idea of building upward, but after a few stories, the building would not be stable. only option left was to build outward but moving those special lights ms. Cindy and cid had installed was going to take time and bodies. And we had already too many refugees now with who knows how many more on that last convoy from altissia.

You shook your head slightly to your self and let go of that train of thought. That wasn't your mission tonight. Your orders were to meet the boy band and get a feel of if, and how they could help in the city, before you made your way to the power plant to guard against daemons. Because the power plant was the only thing keeping Lestallum safe, and the generators at Hammerhead, the new hunters headquarters, were charged from this plant, it was to be guarded at all times. The next few days were your shifts. Boring work for the most part, but you welcomed the change of pace.

You silently went through what you knew about each new hunter as you approached the city, which wasn't much. Everything you knew came from anecdotes from iris, Cor, and aranea mostly. From what you had gathered, gladiolus was the Kings shield and a real bookworm, Ignis was the Kings advisor and strategist and cooked a lot but was out of commission at the moment, and prompto was the Kings hyperactive friend that always got him into trouble and a newbie to battles. Other than that you had no idea what to expect.

As you approached the entrance to the city, the guard on duty opened the gates and waved you in. From the car you pause to ask the status of the new refugees, and learned they should already be at the Leville with the commodore. You thanked him as iris started up again, asking you to drive faster.

 

You hadn't even fully stopped the car before iris hopped out once you reached the hotel-turned-living-quarters. She ran into the hotel she knew so well before doubling back to you to ask the room number they would be in. "Room 15, Iris" you laughed.

Cor and you walked in comfortable silence behind the bouncy teen. You couldn't help but get excited a bit to meet her friends. Any help they could provide in terms of daemon hunting was more than you dared hope for. Iris herself had come to Hammerhead with almost no experience, but after just a few weeks with Cor, you could already tell she would soon raise to the top as one of the best hunters in the group. If her brother was anything like her, which you assumed he must be since unlike her, he had been trained his whole life to fight, it would be a gift from the gods.

You reached the room and let Cor enter first. Once you entered you did a quick head count of the room to assess who was who. There was a big, behemoth of a man leaning against the wall next to Iris, a brunette talking to aranea in the center of the room, and a young blonde man sitting on the farthest of the two beds. 

The way Iris hung onto mr. Muscles, you guessed that was Gladiolus. You walked up to him and introduced herself. "Gladio, right? I'm Y/N. Rumor has it you know how to swing a sword."

Gladio's laugh was a deep hearty sound. "Rumors don't lie. I hear there's a bit of a daemon problem around these parts. Don't mind letting you borrow my sword if you got room for it" you smile at the offer, gave a little nod, and internally thank the six that even tho he had just gotten back from a long trip home, he was already offering to fight.

You moved onto the man next to him. Very tall as well, but much more lean than gladio. The scar on his face, and cane in his hand gave away that he was blind. "So that's what they mean by 'out of commission'." You thought to yourself. "Ignis I presume?" He nodded to confirm. "Looks like the world has take a lot from you." 

"Just a scratch." He responded, waving his hand over his face. Under his calm tone, you could hear the bitterness behind his words.

"Yeah. But as deep as that scratch goes, the world could have take a lot more than just your eyesight, and for a lot of people it already has. I for one am tired of it and plan to start taking back. What about you. What are you planning to do?"

He paused for a minute before responding. You worried that maybe you had been too blunt, but then he responded "my condition is taking longer to adjust to than I had expected, but nevertheless, if you will have me, I am at the hunter's disposal."

You smile and give his hand a firm pump "deal!" You could hear gladio clear his throat at the exchange but ignored him for now. Whatever was going on between them two was between them two.

You moved on to the last unknown face in the room. Even if you hadn't already figured out who the other two guys were, you would have guessed this to be Prompto just by the way he fidgeted on the bed, swinging his legs aimlessly.

When you approached him, he stood up and extended his hand to you before you had even reached him. A light blush formed under the freckles dusted on his cheeks, embarrassed by his own eagerness. You give him a smile to try to calm him down, but it just made his face even redder. "And you must be Prompto." 

"Y-yes, I'm him. I mean, no that's me!" You took his hand and couldn't help but laugh. Worried that you had insulted the poor man, you went on "I had heard you were funny. Glad to see its true. People around here could really use a reason to smile right about now." Your gaze dropped down for a second, depressed by the truth behind your words. 

Prompto smiled sheepishly while reaching back to rub his neck in embarrassment, and you couldn't help notice that the warmth in he smiled made you miss the sun a little less.

You continued "but do you fight as well as you tell jokes?" Before he could answer, gladio piped in "yeah, he's no good at either!" With a sneaky grin.

Prompto pouted, literally pouted, at gladio "aw come on, don't be like that! I helped out plenty on our way back from Gralea, didn't I?"

You were chucking at this whole exchange, but thankfully Ignis had mercy on the poor boy. "Your skill on the field have very much improved Prompto." Then turning to where he guessed you were "no doubt he will be a great asset to you and Dave."

Prompto turned bright red at the kind words and thanked "Iggy" softly.

You, having a job to do, went back to business mode. "Well now that we've all met, I want to thank you for what you did for my uncle a few months back. If you hadn't been there to help Dave when he got hurt, I don't know where we would be now. And even though you have no obligation to help, you offering your services is really great to hear. As I'm sure you all know, the number of daemons has more than tripled so any help you are willing to give, we are more than glad to take! I'll give you a few days to get settled, but when you can, come find either Uncle Dave, or myself to see what missions we think you'd be good for. I'll be at the power plant the next few days, then back to headquarters."

You turned to leave when Prompto called your name. "Y/N...is it true what we hear about you? About being able to use magic used against you?" There was no malice in his voice, no hidden agenda, you knew that. But something about the way he looked at you, the intense curiosity behind those blue eyes, reminded you of another pair of blue eyes from your childhood that sent cold shivers down your spine.

You quickly collected yourself before smiling coyly "don't believe everything you hear boys" and left the room, closing the door behind you.

You paused for a minute and shook the bad memories away so you could focus on your shift at the plant. But you couldn't help but wonder whatever did happen to Versatel anyway...


End file.
